Induction by nerve growth factor (NGF) of NGF receptor-like immunoreactivity in the preoptic area and hypothalamus of neonatal rats.

Nerve growth factor (NGF) was injected in the brain of neonatal rats. In eleven of thirty-one rats that received 1 microgram of mouse NGF (2.5S form) on postnatal day 3, NGF receptor-like immunoreactivity was found in the preoptic area (POA) and hypothalamus until 12 days after birth. However, no immunoreactivity was seen in the region of rats in the same group examined on day 20 or 45 and of uninjected control rats on days 1-45. These results indicate that NGF induces the transient appearance of the receptor for NGF in the POA and hypothalamus of neonatal rats.